Improved therapy waiting times at Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board

PATIENTS under the care of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board experienced improved waiting times for therapy treatment during the first quarter of 2014.

The report states that the Board’s 14-week delivery had been successfully achieved, meaning no patient waited longer that this from January to April of this year.

Jan Fereday-Smith, head of physiotherapy at Betsi Cadwaladr, said: “In the outpatient setting we undertook a full review of capacity, demand and of some pathways of care and considered where support staff could be more effectively utilised.

"Our outpatient schedules were also revised to increase productivity leading to these improved results for the service.”

This improvement also included physiotherapy services, where the demand is greatest, and 90 per cent of them - an average of 4,960 a month - saw a physiotherapist within eight weeks.